Many shower heads, which are employed primarily for purposes of maintaining personal hygiene and cleanliness, attach directly to a water supply pipe provided within a shower or enclosure. Most shower heads may pivot about or near the connection of the head and the water supply pipe. Such pivoting allows the user to direct the water emitted from the head to a desirable or useful location. However, such connections are often rather stiff, making pivoting of the shower head difficult. Alternately, these connections may become loose over time, thus preventing the shower head from maintaining a position set by the user.
Other shower heads currently available are instead connected to a water supply by way of a flexible hose, thus allowing the user to handle the shower head directly. In many such shower heads, the connection between the hose and the water supply incorporates a pivotable holder for the shower head so that the user may shower without holding the head. After a period of use, the holder tends to loosen, as described above, often requiring the user to manually tighten the holder periodically.
More recently, some shower heads are coupled to a water supply pipe by way of a shower arm that allows the shower head to pivot about the water supply pipe. Typically, the user loosens a thumbscrew or similar device to pivot the device to a desired position, and then tightens the screw to hold the shower head and attached arm in place by way of friction. Once again, after a period of use, such a mechanism often loosens so that the shower head and arm are not held in place securely, thus requiring the user to retighten the apparatus.
Accordingly, an improved shower arm would be advantageous.